NDLEA intercepts Italy-bound businessman with 4.8kg cocaine hidden in shoes, bags

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old businessman, Philip Tunde, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, with 4.80kg of cocaine concealed in the soles of shoes and railings of travel bags.

Tunde, who was travelling to Milan, Italy, was arrested on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at the joint screening point of Terminal 2, while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight.

A search of his luggage led to the recovery of 16 parcels of cocaine concealed in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, as well as 195 wraps hidden in the railings of four travel bags.

The NDLEA said all the recovered substances tested positive for cocaine.

During interrogation, Tunde reportedly told investigators that he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine concealed in the shoes, while the consignment hidden in the bags was intended for his business partner in Italy.

He claimed he raised the money from compensation he received after losing the tips of two fingers in an accident while working at a plastic manufacturing company.

Meanwhile, the agency said its operatives had intercepted consignments of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and codeine-based cough syrup worth over N5 billion at the Apapa, Tincan Island and Onne ports. The operations, according to the agency, followed months of intelligence-gathering and tracking of the shipments from their points of origin.

At Apapa Port, Lagos, officers, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders, examined two containers shipped from Bangkok, Thailand.

One of the containers was found to contain 161 parcels of Thai Loud, weighing 124kg and valued at N372 million. The drugs were concealed inside two refrigerators and two cartons. At the Onne Port in Rivers State, two watch-listed containers were also subjected to joint examination.

In the first container, operatives recovered 40 packs of Loud weighing 22kg, concealed in a travelling bag and three of five vehicles shipped inside the container.

The vehicles were identified as a Toyota Matrix, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra.

The second container contained 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, weighing 16,440kg.

The agency said the container had originated from India and was shipped to Saudi Arabia, where its origin records were allegedly deleted in an attempt to evade detection.

The two consignments recovered at Onne were valued at N833.2 million.

At Tincan Island Port, Lagos, a watch-listed container from Montreal, Canada, was examined on Tuesday, September 29.

Operatives recovered 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 1,297.5kg and valued at over N3.8 billion.

The drugs were concealed in a Toyota Sienna, a Hyundai Elantra, 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags.

In Osun State, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, September 30, destroyed 20,234kg of skunk cultivated on an 8.0936-hectare farm in Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area.

In Plateau State, a 41-year-old suspect, Agbo Dennis, was arrested on Tuesday, September 29, at West of Mines, Jos North, with 33 bags of skunk weighing 385kg.

In Lagos, operatives raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, on Monday, September 28, where they recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol.

Two days later, a follow-up operation led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ekundayo Taiwo at Ladipo Spare Parts Market, Mushin.

Similarly, 61 grammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, and 24 grammes of methamphetamine were recovered from a commercial bus driver along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The drugs, according to the agency, had been concealed inside an energy drink bottle and sent as a waybill package.

In Kogi State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Wednesday, September 30, intercepted a Lagos-Abuja commuter bus and recovered two sachets of methamphetamine weighing 1kg from a waybill.

The owner of the consignment, identified as 29-year-old Michael Chukwuememka Uzoma, was subsequently arrested at Utako, Abuja.

In Edo State, operatives raided the residence of 35-year-old Saturday Omimi at Uyere community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, on Friday, October 2, recovering 32.2kg of cannabis sativa.

The same day, Osazuwa Iyabor Michael, 23, was arrested at Auchi Bypass, Benin City, with 59 grammes of Loud, 12 grammes of Colorado, 19 grammes of tramadol, 16 grammes of methamphetamine, 4 grammes of Swinol and 4 grammes of Molly.

Also, a fugitive, 47-year-old Idris Mohammed Kurra, was arrested on Tuesday, September 29, six years after he jumped bail.

Kurra was standing trial before the Federal High Court, Jos, for allegedly possessing and dealing in 198kg of skunk when he was granted bail in December 2020.

The NDLEA said he had remained at large since then until his arrest.